so it’s march

and it’s snowing

on sunday it was almost 80

and girls were wearing tank tops and at the mall (not me, though, because i found that to be a bit premature)

but nonetheless

girls were wearing little amounts of clothing.

and people were outside playing

and enjoying life.

then the next day

ice

and snow

and awfulness.

and now my car is a pile of ice and snow.

again

so now that i’m done complaining about the weather

google took away my page ranking

what once was 2

is now 1

i’m verysad

though i’m not really sure what the means.

my alexa score has stayed constant

so google should really rethink this decision, i think.

read this book:

Dale Carnegie’s Lifetime Plan for Success

perhaps the title sounds silly, but it’s actually quite wonderful.

my dad gave it to me.  highly recommended.

he’s a very smart man, with good opinions.

and a great beard.

-jessica

10am

we’re almost to colorado now, finishing up the final leg of kansas. Kansas is really long, and really boring, by the way. The weather has been a huge pain in the butt so far on this journey.

Last night upon leaving we could really only drive 35 mph at most. Very dangerous stuffs. After we got out of the stl area though, it slowed up and we could drive the speed limit. I actually haven’t driven at all yet, I was planning on taking part of Kansas but about halfway through we realized just how bad they had gotten it. Everything is just coated with a sheet of ice and most of the interstate is slippery. I don’t really want to drive in that and since I drive like an old woman in bad weather, i’m pretty sure no one else wants me to drive either.

 

So the other guy in the car, chad, he got a ticket this morning. Clocked at 91. probably going faster.. I must admit I feared for my life at multiple points in time, but so far we’re surviving.

The biggest issue so far was the lack of open gas stations when I felt I might explode. Finnnnnally, and oddly enough, at bunker hill, kansas, we found an open conoco. Thank goodness for trust stops.

 

I made friends with some girls in the bathroom. They are also on their way to colorado, but their drive is something like 6 hours total. They don’t even KNOW. 18 hours in the car—too much.

They are actually headed to Colorado Springs though. Our destination is Steamboat Springs. I have no idea where this is located on a map, and i’m really just taking the guys word for it that we’re going the right way.

 

I’m pretty sure this is why I bought a laptop by the way. Just so I could type and ride. AND listen to this greatness. I’m not carsick…..yet. But it’s been like an hour since I flipped this thing on and so far, I’m feeling alright. This is good news.

 

It’s pretty baron around here. Just some flat lands, farms, and lots of ice and snow. We attempted to stop at a gas station earlier (which was closed) and found some super sweet ice weeds. I think i’ll post a picture so you can see what I mean. But they were pretty nifty.

 

This morning I woke up after a short nap and it was just before sunrise over Kansas. It was very pretty. The skies are really clear and blue today. Thank goodness the storm is over. It was just really beautiful though, hills, and grass poking through snow dusted hills, the sun hitting everything from just behind the skyline. I liked it.

 

The rest of Kansas, though, very lame.

 

Last night we had a Hutson family gathering at Bunker Hill, IL. It’s always nice to see the family, get a few presents, and eat delicious food. Sadly, I was late. I got off work late yesterday and then couldn’t find any long underwear anywhere (it is apparently an essential item). Once I packed and my 35 minute drive turned into an hour and a half, I practically missed the whole thing.

However, my family loves me and they hid away some cheesy potatoes before they got eaten up. I’m not sure who makes those, but I think they should take a hint from the last 20 some years of celebrations where they disappear within 20 minutes and just make double portions :)

 

So it’s gonna be really great not to work next week. We have just been so busy as a result of conversion. It’s getting better though, and after a week away I should be superb.

We had an area christmas party on friday. That was a pretty good time. Free food and drinks and karaoke. I did a little dancing too, of course.

 

I really want to get there and take a shower. I feel pretty gross and I really want to lay down in a bed. This back seat, not all that comfortable.

Did I mention I only know one person on this entire trip?? Hopefully I’ll make friends quickly though….once I get some sleep I’ll be extroverted again and much less irritable.

 

9:30pm

 

we’ve been here since about 6pm. The drive was ohhh so long, 16 hours straight through. But the tail end of it was beaaautiful. We saw a sunset over mountains. So today, I saw a sunrise AND a sunset. And I only got about 2-3 hours of sleep. So at 930 I have every intention of putting myself to bed.

Tomorrow we’re on the slopes early, by 8 am I hear! Hopefully I won’t fall TOO much.

 

-jess

 

I roll the window down
And then begin to breathe in
The darkest country road
And the strong scent of evergreen

death cab ~ passenger seat

 

we are funny :)

…

allllllllllright, folks. i’m prettttttttty excited to be typing to you from my brand new laptop. a computer that functions efficiently and is reliable. this is big news!

so as difficult of a decision as it was, i ultimately purchased an hp. sure there are things about it that i don’t like as much, but that is with any computer. when i weighed the pros and cons, this is where i ended up, and i’m pretty happy with it.

so now i can update more frequently. and not be so incredibly lame.

okay guess what else is exciting?!

new episode of the office tonight

YESSSSSSSSSSSS

in 5 minutes.

in the mean time

i have a few pictures i thought i would put up for your viewing pleasure

it has been QUITE some time since i have updated, and therefore, i have many pictures to share.

so this is my ginger. she’s a sweet little pup.

this is me with the flag of our ship. it represents all that we stand for in the kreinheder pontoon.

i have the cutest cousin

the older sister and her boyfriend, mark

this is my kizz. she is precious.

abby’s halloween costume

my feet.

our workhourse

our feet.

i just won $27. that’s why i look so happy.

this guy guards our garbage.

some people i really miss.

jakob

totally normal.

my old roomies

i wanted to buy one, but the trunk wasn’t big enough

that’s my grandie in the red

the amish

happpppppy birthday este

everyone loves a party hat

you are jealous of our finger goblins

bahhhhhhh!

 

alright, well, i hope you have enjoyed these fotos. they are quite entertaining if i do say so myself.

i have to be up rather early tomorrow so i’m going to get to sleep, but i promise i’ll tell you all about my new computer in the very near future. and then i’ll tell you other exciting things.

so come back.

and read.

-jess

 

I will live a simple life
In a place i understand
You are always welcome here

denison witmer~simple life

…when i have to work early in the morning.
additionally, i feel pretty crappy. probably from lack of sleep.

i do love taking the weekend shifts.
it is nice, though, having a day off in the middle of the week. after work tomorrow i’m heading home to the good ol’ town of Vandalia.

you’re jealous….aren’t you?

i feel like i haven’t visited home in forever–probably because i really haven’t.

so today i kicked off a new promotional program at work. it’s a referral program I put together for our branch. i hope it works. if not, it’s possible that i’ll look bad. so probably I’ll need to push this.

and if you don’t bank with Regions already….you should maybe start :)

and you can win an ipod.

yep!

so i haven’t really been overly busy, at least I don’t think that I have. i’ve been doing a lot of fun things lately. last weekend in particular I spent a ton of time in stl.

friday i was lucky enough to get to go to the melting pot.
in case you haven’t been–it’s absolutely fantastic. after an amazing dinner, we hit up a movie at the Tivoli called Troll 2.
oddly enough, it had nothing to do with trolls….just goblins and was so awfully bad that it was good, maybe even…great.

are you cuuurrrrrrrrriouuuuus?

It was hilarious.So on Saturday my friend Jackson and I met my friend John and his girlfriend, Katie, for lunch/dinner at Joe Boccardi’s, which was pretty tasty, and then went paddle boating at Forest Park.It reminded me that I love summer.I was also reminded this past week how much I really miss college and all the people at SIUE. I had a day off Tuesday so I had some time to visit some of the people I have missed the most. After a few minutes of hanging out, and answering the phone, it felt like I had never left. Those people are so amazing.I guess I should include a few pictures.

-jess

This feels the same
complications in different situations

between the trees~words

 

 

 

it’s pretty gross outside today. lots of rain. very humid. luckily not 105 degrees as it has been the past few weeks. survivable, but not preferable.

something about the dreariness makes the day go even slower, and just makes me that much more tired.

now, however, i have had enough caffeine to keep me up until tomorrow. somehow it seemed like a good idea to down a medium white chocolate mocha with a shot of raspberry then follow it with a diet coke and a cup of tea. now as i find it difficult to sit still i am beginning to rethink the idea.

the coffee was deliiiicious though. after work i met a friend of a friend for coffee at Cafe Avanti. i wasn’t sure what to expect when i ordered my drink of choice, because typically everyone but starbuck’s makes it taste awful, but i must say i was quite pleased.

perfect amount of whipped cream and raspberry.

so this is weird, until just now, i never realized that raspberry is spelled with a p. somehow i always just thought it was rasberry.

i mean, that doesn’t even really look right, and spell check confirmed my suspicions, but really, a p?? who knew?!

i’m not really sure how i’ve missed that for all these years…

surely i’m not the only one.

today i was watching my super sweet 16 (i know, i know, i’m ashamed for myself as well), but anyway, i was watching it, and the girl on the show had my EXACT bedding, and matching sheets. it was rather creepy. but kind of neat, because she has a lot of money, and presumably with money comes style. thus, i must have style–despite my lack of money.

i’m so logical, i know.

so on a whim my little sister and i did some shopping on saturday. i made out like a bandit.

listen–i am now the proud owner of red, polka-dotted flats.

and i got them for TEN dollars at Baker’s. now i haven’t quite found anything to wear them with yet, but i know that the time will come when these shoes will make the outfit.

i’m not typically one to match outfits to my shoes, but these are probably worth it due to their extremely high cuteness factor. perhaps when my laziness subsides i will show you what they look like. until that point, you will have to imagine their awesomeness.
okay, and finally, i need opinions.
i’m looking to purchase a laptop. nothing over the top, but more than just the basics. it will become my primary machine, so it needs to be of decent quality and speed.

i don’t want to spend more than $1000.

what should i get…?

i keep hearing, “get an apple, get an apple,” but i’m just not sure i’m convinced yet. please offer your argument here. or not.

but really though, i do need help in this decision. i want to feel as if i am not the only deciding factor here. thank you :)
-jess

but I guess i’ll have to settle for a few brief moments
and watch it all dissolve into a single second
try to write it down into a perfect sonnet
or one foolish line

bright eyes–a perfect sonnet